A careful perusal of the story of Jonah, and
of the differences be-
tween Jonah and other prophets and prophetic books, suggests that the
story is not only a satire but a comic satire. The comic aspects
of the
story have been observed for some time. James D. Smart, for example,
in The Interpreter's Bible, does not specifically identify the book
of
Jonah as a comic satire, but he points to various comic features that
could have led him to this conclusion. He notes the prominence
of "in-
consistency," "absurdity, one might also say idiocy" in the behavior
of Jonah. He observes that the story uses "caricature" and at
times a
"grim humor," even that the "picture of Jonah in chs. 3-4 is ludicrous
in the extreme." Having called attention to these various hallmarks
of a
comic literature, Smart comes as close as one could come to identifying
the story as a comedy without actually doing so, perhaps because the
traditional assumptions about biblical materials have not included
com-
edy as an option.
All the specific aspects of the book of Jonah, however,
point to its
having been developed intentionally as a comic satire. In the
comical
person and behavior of a totally uncooperative prophet are satirized
a
variety of evils that we associate with pride, prejudice, narrow-mindedness,
stubbornness, exclusivism, selfishness, animosity, and hypocrisy.
What is central to the tale, in fact, is a comic portrayal of the biblical
them of human wisdom and divine foolishness.
Jonah upholds a conventional sense of justice in which
the hated
Ninevites deserve "to get what's coming to them," without warning
and without mercy. Has God not said that "the way of the wicked
will
perish" (Ps. 1.6)? Jonah wants nothing short of retaliation and
revenge
for the havoc the Assyrian imperialistic ambitions have wrought in
the
Middle East. Anything less would be a mockery of justice and
fair
play. They have sinned enormously, and they should pay in like
measure
for their sins. "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
The
idea that they should be warned of their impending destruction (forty
days even!) Seems to Jonah a pointless exercise that can only give
them
a chance to prepare for, or try to avoid, the disaster. Even
more repugnant
to Jonah's sensitivities is the chance that, given ample warning,
they might plead for mercy. Then God, who has had a reputation
in the
past for being an easy touch and given to changing his mind, might
become
"soft on Nineveh" and spare them. That, for Jonah, would be the
ultimate in divine foolishness.
The book of Jonah, whatever its historical merit, is written
as a
comic tale and uses a considerable range of comic devices aimed at
demonstrating the contradictions in Jonah's position. Jonah maintains
to the bitter end a tragic view of human relationships: there is to
be no
reconciliation between God and Nineveh or between Israel and Nineveh.
All of Jonah's behavior is premised on this. The writer of the
book
of Jonah, on the other hand, holds this view up for critique, in fact
ridicule,
and offers a comic view of human relationships. In this comic
view, though Nineveh has done great evil against Israel and before
God
and though Nineveh deserves vengeance and destruction, there is a
higher and nobler level of relationships. On this higher plane
Nineveh
may be forgiven by God and by Israel. On this higher plane, compassion
and magnaminity, repentance and reconciliation, are possible.
Jonah's arguments are very persuasive, and we, too, have
often
been persuaded by similar arguments relative to our own adversaries
and enemies. The result of Jonah's attempt to stand uncompromisingly
by his principles, however, is that it is Jonah, not God, who looks
foolish.
Again and again in the story Jonah's wisdom turns into folly, his
simple justice becomes injustice, and his self-righteousness falls
into
hypocrisy.
One of the more effective ways of getting at such issues
is not to
preach them directly but to approach them indirectly through irony,
satire,
and humor. Comedy offers a subtler method. It sneaks up
on us
unawares. Or, to switch the metaphor, it comes after us with
well-
baited hooks. When we look at the figure of Jonah, his self-centeredness
and narrow-mindedness, his extreme behavior, his self-contradictions,
we laugh at him and, as we laugh, realize that we are laughing at
ourselves.
Throughout the book of Jonah, the devices used are the
stock-in-
trade of comedy: overstatement, understatement, surprise, opposite
reaction, inconsistency, inappropriate response, ludicrous behavior,
absurdity. We are led thereby to realize that in the course of
being
entertained by such devices, we have been tried and convicted.
Our
laughter at Jonah becomes a judgment on ourselves. In enjoying
his
wisdom turning into foolishness, we discover in the comic mirror the
foolishness of our own wisdom. This is the genius of great comedy,
and the book of Jonah is one of the world's greatest and earliest comedies.
If we get the point of the comedy at all, we hear the still, small
voice within, saying, "Thou art the man."
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